Never To Be Silenced
by Challen Evergreen
Summary: Annalise Cruel, even her name objectifies her. All she wants is to have the one thing she loved returned to her, unfortunately she knows that's impossible so instead she has decided to make it her mission in life to make sure those who try to silence her are miserable. That is until she's kidnapped by someone she knows. What is she going to do now?
1. Only Him

**Hell's New Heroes**

_In the Ichidian Universe no one was safe. People were drug from their homes and killed in the streets - victims of a ruthless tyrant who were bent on being the sole ruler of their entire empire. Those who opposed him and his army formed an alliance called The League which fell under the leadership of the Quorum._

_After they put down the tyrant, the Quorum realized that the best way to keep trouble from starting was to cut it off at its head. A separate group of soldiers was needed, The League Assassins. Highly trained and highly valued, they are the backbone of the government._

_But not even the League is immune to corruption…_

_Welcome to a world where corrupt assassination politics dominate everything and everyone - because sometimes the cure really is worse than the illness. It's kill or be killed. You're either the hunter or the prey._

_But there are those who will protect you. Men and women who come from the streets and from bloodied backgrounds of survival. You just have to decide if they're better than the ones chasing you…_

_Or worse._

_Sarcastic, loyal, highly trained and lethal, these men and women are the next generation of heroes. They know how to laugh in the face of madness and danger, and to endure the worst The League and their enemies can hurl at them._

_Most of all, they know to fight and protect._

_The war is on…_

**Prologue**

A thirteen year old Annalise Cruel sighed as she sat, perfectly silent, while the men around her argued and she pretended she was somewhere else. She couldn't wait to get back to school and away from her uncle and his attempts to marry her off before she was even into her best years. One day she'd get out of here and no longer have to deal with this damn man. The only reason she still stuck around was the fear that if she ran off her older brother Darling would be blamed for it, and that boy was beaten enough as it was. She may act like a cruel, uncaring bitch when it came to her brothers, but she really did love them.

"And this is my niece, Annalise Cruel." Her uncle said, introducing her to yet another dignitary of some important country.

"Well, isn't she just a beautiful young thing." The man said with a smirk as he practically eye-stripped her.

Annalise barely hid her repulsed shiver and disgusted look behind the cool disdain she held like a protective cloak before her.

"Say something Annalise." Her uncle pushed. "This is a very important man." He warned in her ear softly.

Annalise nodded politely at the man. "It is… wonderful to meet you." She lied with a smile and only a small pause. "I would love to continue this conversation, but unfortunately I need to be excused for a moment. I will return shortly." She finished before gracefully standing and walking away. Once she knew she was far enough away, she rushed to the bathroom and snuck out the window into the garden.

"I thought you'd never show." A male voice teased as she was wrapped up in a hug from behind.

Annalise smiled as she turned in the boys arms to face him. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "My uncle is so difficult to escape sometimes, and even worse was this dignitary. I swear I've never felt so disgusted." She told him honestly as she snuggled into his arms.

"I told you I'd kill him for you. I don't even care if I get caught as long as you can finally be happy." He reminded her.

Annalise shook her head. "I'd never want you to do that. I don't think I could live without you." She admit sadly, leaning her head against his wiry shoulder.

"You never have to." He promised as he leaned his head against the top of hers, only to jerk it up as the garden became flooded with soldiers.

"I knew you were hiding something." He uncle said as he grabbed her roughly and yanked her away. "But I never thought it was this." He said angrily, looking the boy up and down. The lad couldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen with a thin, underfed look, clearly a gutter rat. "Take him away." He ordered.

As soldiers grabbed the boy, Annalise rushed forward. "No!" She shouted, only to have her uncle backhand her so hard she fell to the ground.

As she looked up through her red hair, the boy's eyes blazed with promise. "I'll find you Lissy!" He promised as they yanked him backwards roughly. "Don't give up on me! I swear that no matter how long it takes I'll find you! I won't give you up for anything!" He swore right before a soldier pounded the butt of a rifle into the boy's head, sending him slumping to the ground.

Annalise let the tears slid down her cheeks as she watched them roughly drag him away. The boy she'd fallen in love with, and they were taking him from her.

"What do you want done with him sir?" A soldier asked.

Her uncle glanced down at her and she saw his lips twist into a cruel smile. "Send him to the mines off world." He told the man.

"But sir, he's a boy… he wouldn't survive." He said with a tone that said he wasn't being dramatic.

Her uncle looked at Annalise once more. "Perfect." He told the man before turning to another soldier. "Take her to her room and lock her in. She won't be allowed to leave until she's headed to school once more." He told the soldier before looking at Annalise. "You and I will talk later." He warned before once more heading into his party.

Annalise was drug back to her room with no regard to her well-being. She was tossed - not into her own room - but into a tiny room that held nothing more than a bed and a wardrobe. She glanced around the room and carefully dried her tears. _She would never cry again, not until her uncle was dead and she could laugh over the body. He'd taken the most important thing in her life from her, and one way or another she'd do the same to him. Even if she died doing so._


	2. Tavali Pirates

**Eight Years Later**

Annalise sighed as she stood at yet another party._ Yeah, she was twenty, woo-fucking-hoo, she didn't want to bloody marry. Yes, she knew her brother was finally happy with his precious wife Zarya, but she wasn't Darling and she was never going to allow herself to forget the man she loved, even if he was dead._

"Annalise?" Her mother's voice said, snapping her from her thoughts. "This nice man wanted to meet you."

Annalise looked the man over and suddenly turned and raced from the room. She reached the gardens in record time and glanced at the skies. "I can't do this!" She shouted upward.

The man she'd hated for years was finally dead, and all she could do was stew over the fact that she hadn't been the one to kill the monster. That was supposed to be _her _revenge! She deserved to watch the life leave his eyes! Yes, Darling had been put through more than anyone deserved, but he'd always had Zarya. Arturo had _stolen_ that from Annalise and she hadn't even got to see him die._  
_

"Lise?" She heard Zarya say softly behind her.

Annalise turned on the woman. "Why was it _Darling_ who got to kill him?" She demanded angrily. "That was _my_ kill." She said coldly. "I waited years for that man to trust me enough to allow me into an empty room with him and _Darling_ was the one who got to watch the life leave his eyes." Her eyes were strangely dry as she said this, but of course she'd made a promise to herself. She'd never again cry until she was reunited with the one man who actually made her happy, but that was never going to happen. She would never be able to find where they'd sent him and it was all because Darling couldn't wait three more months to go crazy and kill their uncle. "I'll never find him now." She whispered as she turned her back on Zarya.

Zarya just stared at the woman before her. She'd known Annalise for a long while, but this woman wasn't the young woman she'd come to know. This woman was a cold, hard female... this was Zarya before Darling. "Annalise, please just come back inside and we can talk about this later tonight. Maybe we can help you find... whoever you're looking for." She said hopefully.

Annalise turned back to the woman. "He's dead." She said, her voice as dead as the man she loved. With this said, she swept past the older woman and back into the party, her face once more a mask of cold disinterest. She didn't care what her mother wished, she was _never_ marrying. She would die alone and she really didn't mind. Maybe she could find Thia - when the girl had run she'd left Annalise a roadmap to find her - go away with the other girl. Thia would understand, she had the same empty hole in her own soul that she'd left to try to fill. That was what she'd do, she would pack tonight and head out after Thia as soon as everyone went to bed. She knew she could crack the security, no problem.

She glanced around to find Zarya returning to Darling's side. An ugly grin twisted her features as she guessed what the woman would be saying.

_"Did you find out what was wrong?" _Darling would ask.

_"She's acting so strange."_ Zarya would answer as she glanced fearfully towards Annalise - oh look, there's the fearful look.

_"She'll be fine, must be strange being back here and all. Especially after all that's happened._" Her brother would reassure his precious wife - ha, yeah right, the change had nothing to do with it.

_"I hope you're right."_ Zarya would finish off with, one last worried glance towards the poor younger sister before her and Darling would go off and act the perfect, happy couple that they were.

Yeah, they just loved to taunt her. As she glanced around she realized something, there were people in the palace that didn't belong. As she really looked, she knew they couldn't be catering. She noticed the faint outline of flat blades and the way many of the "servers" kept checking under covered tables and such. She would just bet if she headed over to the serving tables she'd find blasters tapped underneath. Just as she headed over to do so, a man dropped from the rafters as the servers quickly covered their faces with bandanna's and masks and pulled off their catering clothes to show a mishmash of fashions. The one thing they all had in common, a marking she recognized instantly - Tavali pirates - but why were Tavali there? They didn't go after palaces, they hit freighters and other airships.

"Everyone freeze!" A man shouted as he walked up behind Annalise and wrapped a strong arm around her waist, in his hand was a lethal looking dagger and in his free hand was a blaster pointed at the crowd. Not like they'd be doing anything, there were a dozen other man - the servers she'd been studying - holding blasters on the other guests.

Annalise figured they'd grabbed her because she was the only one who hadn't instantly cleared the floor when they showed themselves, but it seemed that wasn't the case when the man who held her glanced at her and smiled. "It was easier finding you this time then I expected." He said, almost sounding as though he knew her. But that was impossible, she only knew three Tavali and she wasn't even supposed to know they were Tavali, only she'd snooped a bit after learning her eldest - and half - brother was one. "But not nearly as easy as I'd been hoping at the beginning." He admit before looking at the crowd. "Now, I don't want to hurt none of you rich people, but I will to get this little beauty out of here." He warned. "I don't mind killing a one of you if it means I leave through those doors and she comes with me." He told them all.

Annalise looked at him in shock, _why was he so adamant about getting her out of there?_ She wondered vaguely. "You realize there are people far richer then I and allot less dangerous to kidnap." She told him, honestly not worrying that he'd kill her because - honestly - she'd been praying for death since she'd learned her uncle had been killed.

She could see surprise in the man's eyes. "I'm not ransoming you darling." He told her honestly.

"Enough!" She heard her brother shout angrily before she could say anything. Finally his temper had snapped and he was letting out a little of what terrified League soldiers. "Release my sister before I snap your neck with my bare hands." His voice was soft and deadly as he said this.

The man's eyes clearly showed the smile his mouth was hiding. "Sorry Princy," He told Darling with a cheeky grin. "I made a promise and I gotta keep it. Pirates honor and all." He said tauntingly. "Well, you all have a right nice party, but I gotta be clearing out cause I gotta kidnapping to get on with and this standing around talking thing ain't doing me no favors." He told them all with a smirk before nodding at his crew, slinging the girl over his shoulder like a sack of flour, and heading out the door.

"You don't know who you're stealing from!" Darling shouted angrily as he tried to push past the two huge men holding him back.

The pirate froze in his tracks before gently setting Annalise down, passing her off to two of his men, and stalking up to Darling. "I know _exactly_ who I'm stealing from." He said, his voice pitched threateningly. "But I made a promise and if this is the only way I can keep it, so be it. Send your Sentella after me, I'll gladly die to make the only person I care about finally happy." He finished before turning his back.

"When I find you I'm going to make the Rit prisons sound like a day at the sauna!" He shouted as the pirate just kept walking. "I swear if you harm her I'll slowly tear you limb from limb." He said, his voice turning growly in his anger.

The pirate just saluted mockingly towards Darling before he once more grabbed Annalise and drug her from the room.

Darling growled as the pirates disappeared out the doors as though they'd never been there. He glanced around at the frozen individuals and snapped. "Go after them!" He shouted, sending everyone scrambling for the door. "Where in the hell is my security detail! I want to know how they got here and they damn well better not be able to leave my planet!" He threatened as he stormed threw his palace, shedding his palace garb and finally ending up in nothing but a pair of tight black pants and a black shirt. He entered the war room and began strapping blasters and the likes all across his body. "Call up a secure line." He demanded.

"Done sir." A soldier assure him.

"Good, get out. No one is to enter except my wife who will probably be along soon." Darling warned.

"I'm here." Zarya assured him as she entered, clipping the last buckle on her armor-stitched suit and placed the last blaster in its holster.

Darling nodded as the soldier evacuated and he called up the other four members of Sentella.

"Umm... what did I miss?" Syn asked as he popped up on the screen and glanced between the fully suited Zarya and Darling. "I thought this was a peaceful thing your mother set up."

"Obviously that's changed." Hauk said as he popped on-screen.

"Shut up Dancer." Syn said rudely, gaining a growl from Hauk which was ignored.

"What happened?" Nykyrian asked as he to popped up on-screen.

Finally Jayne popped up and looked between everyone. "What's going on?" She asked, always ready for a fight but not until she knew facts.

"One minute, I have one more person I called up." Darling told them all just as his oldest brother Ryn popped on-screen.

"What in the hell are you doing contacting me now?" Ryn demanded irritably, he was always a rude bastard.

"Tavali took Annalise." Darling told them all, but mostly pointing his comment at his brother, who just happened to be one of them.

"What?" Everyone on-screen demanded in surprise.

"Tavali don't just target people." Ryn spoke up. "It's not part of the system."

"It seems you have rogues." Darling said angrily. "They took Anna out of here without any trouble..." He paused before continuing. "And she just went with them, like she didn't even care that they may kill her." He finished, worry evident in his voice.

Ryn looked slightly disturbed at the news, as did the other four on-screen, but it was Zarya's words that truly worried them. "I don't think she _want's_ to survive this." She warned. "She said some things when I went out to the garden to check on her that made me think of... me when I thought you were dead." She finished, biting her lip at a reminder of a time that still stung.

Nykyrian nodded firmly. "Well then, I guess we find her before something bad happens." He said firmly. "We'll get to work and keep in touch." He promised before signing off, probably to call Syn privately since he also logged off.

"I'll get a hold of Fain." Hauk promised before disappearing.

"I've got Desideria and Caillien, they can contact Chayden." Jayne assured Darling before signing off.

Ryn just nodded at Darling, not needing to say anything before he too signed off, leaving Darling and Zarya alone.

"We'll find her." Zarya assured him.

Darling sighed. "I'm just worried what we'll find." He admit sadly before finally allowing himself to be comforted by his wife, he really hoped his baby sister was safe.


End file.
